When I was a child, I loved Halloween. In the old days, my parents would take our family to neighbors' homes along our surburban street, where we would perform a song and receive candy and treats as a reward. But as I grew older, the fascination with the holiday began to wane. Yes, I took my children to neighbors' homes, and had some Halloween parties, and I always carved beautiful jack-o-lanterns but other than that, it's just a good night to sit tight, watch Casper and have a few glasses of wine.

Now, some people have oodles of decorations for Halloween, but I really don't. In fact, this is probably all I have left of the few decorations I haven't either taken to school or given away. And I've always liked this little treat box and have kept it in pristine condition.

It stands approximately 9 inches high and is made of a type of papier-mache. I can't take it to school because it's just slightly on the disturbing side, and since our school is a K-12, I really don't need the littles having nightmares of pumpkins with teeth.

If you would like to acquire this decorative Halloween item, all you have to do is tell me a favorite Halloween memory. I'll leave this contest open until Saturday at Noon, EST. Then I'll draw numbers and choose the winner. Plus, if you pimp this contest on your blog, I'll give you two entries to double your chances of winning! Remember, contest ends Sat., 9/27 at Noon.

This is the tag that was attached when I purchased it.

And what the hey, I'll even throw in an 8 X 10 of your choice of any photo you desire on my Picture A Day blog.

41 comments:

Yippee! I am first!Thank you so much for the nice compliment over at my place on my skywatch shot. It means a lot to me.

I hope I win so I can get this fun decoration AND an 8x10 of yours. It will be hard to choose.

One of my fav memories was when I was in the 4th grade and I lived in a super tiny town. So all the kids dressed up and literally went to everyhouse unsupervised. It was safe and it felt neat for a kid that age to run around by themselve. I remember it was cold and rainy, but it didn't dampen our fun!

Love your Blog! My favorite Halloween memory is when I was in the third grade, our class had a party and I was really lucky because the son of the owner of the local bakery was in my class and brought the best cake, cookies and cupcakes and then everyone dressed up and the school had a parade around the driveway of the school and I thought I was so cool because my mom (who at the time was a stay at home mom) came to help, then that night I went trick or treating.

My favorite memory is when my own children were able to connect with the costumes and the candy. I have never seen eyes that wide since that day. What a great idea, this contest. And a wonderful treat for all of us.

My favorite Halloween memory is of my own children dressing up and (the girl) being so starry-eyed to be a princess or queen or fairy. The boy's favorite costume was to be draped in Spanish moss and be the swamp monster! Of course, he regretted that the next day because of all the unseen bugs in the moss that bit him!!

My favorite memory is when my Aunt Nellie drove us around to a few of her friend's house to trick or treat. We didn't have much back then and candy seemed like gold! The best part was when she took us back to Uncle Norb's house. I got to hand out the candy...now mind you Uncle Norb gave out the Large Snickers Bars. Kids would line up at his door. At 7 years old, I caught on that the older kids were switching costumes to come back to get more candy! Of course my uncle was naive to children...that's why we loved him so! So I would make them show me their face to make sure they had only been there once. Oh what power!!!

At the age of 6 I came down with the Mumps just days before Halloween. I was devastated not to be able to go trick or treating. Every neighbor that my father and sisters stopped at asked where I was. When they heard the news they all insisted that I need some candy too, even though I wasn't out and about. Some even sent extra because I was sick. I was so surprised when my sisters came home and gave me a bag of candy just for me.

I'll never forget when I was in second grade, I went home for lunch to get dressed up for the class Halloween party. I wanted to be a princess but my mother and grandmother had another idea for me.

Turned out they'd decided I'd be a hobo and dressed me up in an old pair of pants, an old shirt and jacket, and hat. Then to make me look "really" unique, they blacked my face like I'd been riding the rails. Well! I was so horrified that I was going to go to school looking like that and started to cry. But my mother and grandmother just laughed because they thought the smudges my tears made just made me look even "cuter." (to them! *hah*)

Anyway, they sent me off to school and I seriously considered running away! But I went and had fun bobbing for apples. You can imagine how my face looked after THAT!

I enjoyed Halloween as a kid, but it was more fun to watch my now 25 year old son, as he wore the costume I made for him when he was 3 years old. He wore the super hero cape for several months after that, (until it was replaced by a Ghostbusters jumpsuit.)

As a child the veterinarian in our small town put out the talking pumpkin. This consisted of a huge pumpkin sitting on a table. As we would go up to the pumpkin it would talk to us and ask us about our costumes and such. There was a huge bowl of candy sitting right by the pumpkin and if you tried to sneak more than what the pumpkin told you to take he knew and would yell. Scared the boogers out of a lot of little greedy goblins. Of course they were hiding in the house, had a microphone set up under the table (they could hear all that was said) and could see everything from a darkened window. They did this for years and my own children got to visit the talking pumpkin up until we moved away.

When my children were about 4 & 5 I took them out trick or treating in our neighborhood. Our neighbor sat on the front step of his house in a gross disguise to greet the costumed kids. His mask had a big, old, gross string of snot coming out of a nostril of the mask. My son took the candy, said thank you, and moved immediately to the curb to throw up in the gutter. His stomach some 17 years later is much, much stronger.

My favorite memory was the year I was 10 and the older neighbor girls dressed me up like Phyliss Diller complete with a smoking cigarette(it had baby powder in it so we I blew on it little puffs of smoke came out) It was such a hit in my little town of 600 in Iowa at that time that it was requested by some neighbors that I be dressed up as Phyliss again in the summer of the next year for our annual kids day parade. I won first prize.

Hi, I've been reading your blog for a while now but never commented before. I thought today would be a good time to start.

My favorite Halloween memory is my parents and I hiding in our house watching some kids t.p. us. It was very exciting to me as it had never happened to us before and I thought it was beatiful. I found out years later that my dad had paid some kids to do that because I had complained that we never got t.p.'d

My favorite Halloween as a kid was dressing up as a gypsy or princess in mom's clothes ... as an young adult I loved going to costume parties in the most comfy costume I could ... one year I was a newsboy in jeans with a cap, another time I was a vampire's victim .. another I was a cleaning lady .. always comfy ...

Halloween is definitley not my favorite celebration since I always agonized over my costume. I could never come up with a clever idea, so basically my own costume sucked.

But I have to say that my favorite was when my three nephews were little. The oldest was six and all he wanted to be was a skeleton. The twins were about three and so cute. I had just moved into my first home and on my own. I put aside all the money I saved at the grocery store using coupons and took the money and bought my oldest nephew a pair of skeleton pajamas/costume with glow in the dark bones and for the twins, I found Batman and Robin pajama/costumes. I finished off the costumes with half masks. They were so cute and so proud of their costumes. I was surprised that they didn't wear them out, but many years later, my own son wore the Batman and Robin costumes too.

You know, I'm SO not a Halloween person, so I wouldn't be a good winner. Except for the 8x10 of one of your photos! I'd so kill for that. Anyway...the only thing I remember about Halloween from when I was a girl was cute costumes, but always having to wear a winter coat over them and freezing my butt off.

I was born on Hallowe'en and when my grandchildren were small they used to always visit me complete with a pumpkin. We used to have two - one to put on the gatepost with a candle inside and one to make soup, which we served in the pumpking shell. I kept the seeds and for many years grew son/grandson/great grandson of pumpkin. They are grown up now andI still see them but not altogether as in the old days!

...Girl, you are too kind! Love that folky candy container - too cute! I really don't have any particular Halloween memory that stands out from any other. My mom always help to put together or make costumes and we always carved pumpkins together and she would walk up and down our road with me with the flashlight and stand down at the end of the driveways while I trick o' treated. Halloween was just an awesome time and still is at our house even tho' we don't get trick o' treaters... I love Halloween, it's right under Christmas for me... ;o)

...Oh, and I posted about your awesome give-away over at my place Kate... :o)

I love Halloween, too! Back in the fifties my uncle had a black cloth skeleton costume with glow in the dark bones. I thought it was SO cool and scary!! And I absolutely loved those little metal cricket clickers. We clicked those all night until our hands were numb!

I was small enough to Trick or Treat back in the days when Halloween was safe. I was allowed to go only to homes on our block. What wonderful treats we got! Most of the houses had enclosed porches on the front, and the moms would sit out there, making popcorn balls they gave us still warm, along with homemade cookies and fudge. My favorite costume was a gypsy because I could dress up in colorful clothes and wear bangles and beads.

The night before was Mischief Night, and we would throw dried corn at the windows, or else ring the doorbell, and then hide and watch as the homeowner came out and pretended to be puzzled. Some mischief, huh? But we thought it was great.

First of all, I am so glad you incorporated your Skywatch Friday photo into your daily blog. I really, really love that shot. (and if I win, I would rather have the photo so I can make it my desktop!!!)My favorite Halloween memory...that takes me back to the 5th grade...we lived in Chicago...my cousins, my sister and myself went out trick or treating together as my mom and aunt thought we had safety in numbers. That may have been true, but it was the 60's and it was a different time. When the little kids got tired, my cousin and I would take to the streets and go to the apartment complexes, because we got our best bang for the buck! I remember coming home witl a full bag of candy. Because I got to hang out with my cousin Johnnie...what a crazy kid he was...I felt happiness and he provided me with a little escape. Good times.

We were never really big into the Halloween celebrations, and most of my memories are cloudy. My favorite Halloween memory is actually from last year, when my son dressed as Darth Vader to answer the door and hand out treats, complete with the helmet which changes the voice. The kids coming to the door loved it! A tall, skinny Darth Vader in a black graduation robe. :)

I was 6 or 7 and mom dressed me up in the prettiest costume ever.....I loved the movie Gone With the Wind when I was little, watched it every year on tv with mom.......well that Halloween, I got to be Scarlett....Big, frilly, hoop skirt dress, juanty little hat, cute shoes.....it was so much fun, the best costume ever............=)

The halloween I remember the most is when I was 11 and my mother let me take my brothers trick or treating all by myself. We went twice as far as she would have taken us and we had quite the loot when we got home. Two years later we all had the chicken pox and no one went out. That was definitely the worst I remember.

I still love Halloween though, I dress up with my kids every year and we put up decorations around the house.*hugs*

I loved Halloween, as my mom would take us to the nearest large town (because I lived on a cattle ranch way back in the country), which was Brenham, Texas. It was great~we came home with so much candy. Always several 1-gal. jars of it. We walked from house to house, never a worry about anyone hurting us. Times were great, and so much simplier. We never bought costumes, we always made them up~a maid or an old granny or one year I was an angel =) The weather was always cool, and crisp and that is what I loved the most!!

My favorite Halloween memory is of when I was in like 5th grade, I was dressed as the Giant Purple People Eater. It doesnt generally snow by Halloween in these parts, but that particular year it snowed very heavily the entire time. But it was a ball and I had a great time... I miss trick or treating... Lol!Em

I would love to be included in your give away. I originally found your blog through Mary at the Little Red House. By one of your comments I noticed that we live close by. My most memorable Halloween memory is when I dressed my 2 year old son up as a Smurf This was 24 years ago. You remember the Smurfs, don't you? Yes, he was blue and he had his Smurf shirt on. That was truely priceless.

We celebrate Hallowe'en (ridiculously) all year. My kids love Hallowe'en. Me, too, truth be told. I love the mystery of it. The tales that can be told.

Last year we convinced the kids that the scarecrow that we MADE TOGETHER came to life. While we were gutting the pumpkins we said, "HOly crap, what was that?" and when they weren't looking I threw some plastic rats and spiders into their half empty pumpkins. Then we when said, "Oh, we thought we saw the scarecrow jump down off his hook and take off but we must have been mistaken." They went to resume gutting the pumpkins but when they found the plastic goodies they were totally freaked out. The only unfortunate part was that they believed the scarecrow had somehow snuck into our house right in front of us and done this. Hum. My kids, not so smart. We had to come clean by bed 'cause neither would go to sleep.

My most remembered Halloween was when I was most likely in jr. High. My younger brother was around 4 or 5. My mom was taking us trick or treating by car as the weather we really cold. We were at a friends house and going to ring the door bell. Well, as luck would have it, they were having a party, and their dad was dressed up like a hunchback. They opened the door, and he jumped out,growling up a storm, and my poor little brother dropped his bag of candy and took off running. I was left standing at the door like an idiot. Jr. High and still trick or treating. UHHH.

My favorite Halloween memory is 1980 when my then boyfriend and I decided to elope. We ran off to Oklahoma, where no blood tests were required. We almost couldn't find a preacher! The marriage license place suggested we go to the Salvation Army. They'd do it for a donation. Somehow, getting married at the Salvation Army...on Halloween...didn't seem right. We eventually found a nice, retired minister. His wife was our witness, and we were on our way back to Texas before sundown. That was when the tire blew. No real harm...but it kind of put a damper on our fun. What a day!

Whoops, missed this - but then again, we never had Halloween here when I was a kid. It's only been in recent years that Halloween in full commercial glory has it our shores. Because it's not something I'm at all familiar with, it means very little to me.

I was born on Halloween, and always hated it as a kid. It seemed that everyone was much more interested in trick-or-treating than they were that it was my birthday.

However, my 11th birthday fell on a Sunday. My parents decided that our family would not go out and trick-or-treat on a Sunday, and instead we turned out all the lights in the house and went into the basement. My dad lit lanterns and we had flashlights, and I had my first big birthday actually ON my birthday, ever. We played games, ate candy and cake and ice cream, and had a TON of fun.

My name is Kate. I live in Maryland with a border collie named George in an old manor house that predates the Revolutionary War. I began this blog in 2007 to share my photography with my family and friends. Welcome.

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